Three friends took a boat to a party - only one came back
By Connie Levett, Herald Correspondent on Ko Samui, Thailand, and Michael Bradley
January 27, 2005
It was their final night in Thailand and Jonathan Clarkson, Faheem Bhuiyan and Nathan Zann wanted one last party before they flew back to Sydney and the serious business of work as young professionals.
The three Australian men, friends since their time together at Baulkham Hills High School, were on the final leg of a month-long overseas trip. Their last night fatefully coincided with Ko Pha Ngan's monthly full moon beach party, one of the biggest rave parties in the world.
There were more than 10,000 ravers, with 100 speedboats ferrying them back and forth across the narrow tidal stretch of water between Pha Ngan and its big sister island, Samui.
They were staying at the upmarket Baan Chaweng Beach Resort on Ko Samui and took the 9.30pm Sea Breeze Tours speedboat to Pha Ngan's Hat Rin (Sunset Beach). It took 20 minutes. The boat was not that crowded. It was a different story when they turned for home at 5am.
"On the way back, a throng of people kept getting on," Mr Clarkson told the Herald yesterday. "I thought they would stop them but they didn't.
"We were in the middle of the boat, standing. I felt uncomfortable. I thought it was a bit dangerous. But the sea was fairly calm.
"The water started coming in on the right-hand side of the boat. I was holding onto the left side. The boat started to lean and the water rushed in. As soon as that happened, people started to scream and it tipped pretty quickly."
Last night, 36 hours after the accident, Faheem Bhuiyan, a 23-year-old financial analyst, and Nathan Zann, a 22-year-old accountant, were among 15 people still missing. Another eight have been confirmed dead.
Looking pale, Mr Clarkson, 23, recalled how he was rescued by a speedboat following behind and how he searched for his friends.
"I was calling for them but I didn't see them in the water."
Throughout Tuesday night, the governor of Surat Thani province, Vichit Vichaisan, oversaw search operations from the beachfront deck of the Sea Breeze office on Samui. On the boat ramp beside him was the retrieved speedboat, its vinyl canopy torn off. "Capacity 32 passengers" is clearly marked in Thai on its side.
Authorities estimate more than 45 people may have been on the boat. Confirmed dead are four Thais, three English tourists and an American. Missing are 11 foreigners, including the Australians, and four Thais. Another 25 were rescued from the water.
Thailand's Interior Minister, Bhokin Bhalakula, told the English-language newspaper The Nation that initial investigations suggested the accident was caused by a tube to the boat's water pump coming off as a result of the overloading. He said all passengers aboard boats would now be required to wear lifejackets. The 26-year-old driver of the tourist speedboat surrendered to police yesterday, blaming the accident on mechanical failure. He and his company have been charged with negligence, with overloading the 12-metre boat and fitting three engines to it instead of the standard two.
Only one body, of a Thai, was found yesterday, and this offered a sliver of hope for Faheem Bhuiyan's father, Mumen, who arrived with his wife on Samui late on Tuesday from Bangladesh, where they had been holidaying. Looking out at the strait of water, he said: "The bodies were supposed to [surface] within 24 hours. They could be on a small island. They don't speak Thai, they cannot make themselves understood. Have they searched the small islands, the uninhabited ones?"
The Marine Police said all eight islands in the area would be searched.
Mumen Bhuiyan, who emigrated to Australia in 1974 from Bangladesh, spoke proudly of his son, an analyst with Procter & Gamble who graduated from Macquarie University with a double degree in actuarial studies and finance.
Mr Clarkson, who studied with his friend at Macquarie University, had just finished actuarial and law studies.
Mr Zann, who was on his first trip overseas, had travelled to the US and Canada as part of his journey with Mr Clarkson. They met Faheem Bhuiyan in Egypt before heading for Thailand.
Mr Zann lived with his mother, Veronica, at Quakers Hill and was about to start his first job, with Ernst & Young, his great uncle, Brian Zann, said. He described his nephew as "quiet, unassuming, and well-loved by his mates".
"He did not drink or smoke. He was very conservative. I doubt he would have ever even picked up a speeding ticket.
"He ended up in the top 10 per cent in maths in NSW and he just graduated from Sydney University with very high marks and landed his first job with Ernst & Young, which he was coming back to start next month. I just don't know how something like this could ever happen, but we are still hoping for a miracle."
Brian Zann said the three friends had grown up playing cricket and soccer together at Baulkham Hills.
Nathan Zann's mother left for Thailand yesterday. Faheem Bhuiyan's two sisters, Sharon and Sonya, travelled from Sydney on Tuesday night.
Mumen Bhuiyan revealed he had concerns about the trip, but said: "I was worried about them going to Egypt, not here. Why would they want to go to a party at 9 o'clock when they were coming home the next day? Every time we watch television and see a boat capsize in Bangladesh, my son says it's because they are overloaded. Now he is on an overloaded boat."
